TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Spain’s housing crisis and soaring rent prices are becoming increasingly urgent. Over the past decade, both issues have steadily worsened, prompting tens of thousands of people to stage protests in Madrid, Barcelona, and 40 other cities across the country on Saturday, April 5, 2025.
According to Antara, Mariola Gutierrez, spokesperson for the Tenants Association in Logroño, said the movement seeks to bring down housing costs and curb the expanding rental bubble, pressuring both speculators and the government.
A National Movement
This action is the first large-scale coordinated national demonstration organized by various tenant associations. According to the Spanish government's spotlight, an estimated 15,000 people took to the streets in Madrid.
The demonstration coordinators said that ten times more people took to the streets in the capital.
In Barcelona, the local government estimated 12,000 protesters joined the action. In contrast, organizers claimed that more than 100,000 people participated in the demonstration on Saturday, April 5, 2025.
Protesters' Demands
During the demonstration, the protesters carried posters that read, "End the housing business" and "Cut rent by 50 percent," as a form of criticism of the property market, which is considered unsustainable and full of speculation.
The tenants also threatened to go on a rent strike if their demands are not met. The spokesperson for the Tenants Association Madrid, Valeria Racu, urged 500,000 households whose leases expire in 2025 to resist eviction.
500,000 New Homes Needed
The Bank of Spain estimates that the country needs around 500,000 new homes. Proposed solutions include land law reform, streamlining bureaucracy, and reducing the current 25% tax burden on housing.
Other suggestions include halting short-term tourist rentals in major cities and coastal areas.
Government's Stance
In response to the housing crisis, the ruling left-wing coalition government has taken several steps to address the issue.
However, these efforts are widely considered insufficient. One recently halted policy is the "golden visa" program, which granted permanent residency to foreign investors purchasing property worth at least 500,000 euros.
The program was discontinued on April 3, after having benefited around 15,000 foreign investors since 2013.
Rental Prices Double
As quoted from Al Jazeera, data from the Idealista property website shows that the average rental prices in Spain have doubled. House prices have surged by 44 percent over the past decade. This figure far exceeds the average salary growth of workers in Spain.
The average rent now stands at 13.5 euros per square meter. Amid a trend of urban migration from smaller towns to major cities, many young people in Spain are relocating to suburban areas due to the high cost of housing and rent in city centers.
Sita Planasari also contributed to the writing of this article
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